Jodie Starling
| keyhole = Volume 42 | cases-solved = | japanese-voice = Miyuki Ichijo Yumi Toma (young) | footnotes = }} , referred to in earlier episodes as , is a character in the manga and anime franchise Detective Conan. Background Some twenty years ago, when Jodie was still just a little girl, Vermouth killed her parents, who had been working on the Black Organization for the FBI. Vermouth was surprised to find her in her house, and after Jodie had asked what was going on, Vermouth told her to wait by her father until he woke up, and that "a secret makes a woman woman". She then set the house ablaze, thus destroying any evidence that she had been there, along with the corpses of Jodie's parents and any records about the Black Organization. Fortunately, Jodie had decided to run down the street to the store to buy her father some orange juice, and had thus survived. She was put under protection by the FBI, although she declined the Witness Protection Program, and eventually became an FBI agent herself under the tutelage and patronage of James Black. The only remaining memento from her past is the set of glasses she wears, which had originally belonged to her father. Personality Jodie usually is a very serious person, but also has demonstrated a very playful and carefree side (as it is seen when she is Ran's English teacher). She seems to like movies (especially mystery and action-oriented films), and enjoys action videogames. Impressed by his intelligence, deductionary abilities and knowledge, Jodie considers Conan her "favorite detective". She always takes him seriously, and lets him help her in figuring out plans. Appellations Plot overview Plot Timeline Jodie appears around the same time as Vermouth as Ran's new English teacher at Teitan High under the name of "Jodie Saintemillion". She comes off as somewhat strange, and refers to Conan as "Cool Guy", which caused fans to believe that she knew his secret. (In fact, she now knows he's an incredible detective, but it is unclear if she knows his true identity). She is noted for often using the phrase of her enemy, Vermouth ('A secret makes a woman woman'). In episode 226-227 Jodie, after watching Conan suspiciously, informs someone over the phone that she has found their target, whom she refers to as "Rotten Apple". First indications of Jodie's FBI training are shown during the confrontation with the bus hijackers. She stealthily turns on the safety to one of the hijacker's guns, while knocking him down thus he cannot shoot it when he attempts to fire at her. She appears later in 271-272 and gives Conan information that allows him to solve the case. In episodes 277-278, she is investigated by Conan and Heiji, both believing her to be Vermouth in disguise, as she pretends to not know japanese despite being perfectly fluent, and even helps them solve a case in the same episode. It is not until her personal confrontation with Vermouth that Jodie's past and true identity as an FBI agent is revealed, as well as the real reason she's in Japan and the person she's looking for. She is tracking down Vermouth, and after a brief confrontation with her, Jodie is rescued by Conan and her colleague Shuichi Akai. Following this, she offers Ai a place in the Witness Protection Program, but Ai declines. She does not appear again until when she helps Conan prevent an assassination plot of a politician orchestrated by the Black Organization and the subsequent capture and hospitalization of the BO member Kir. Jodie has been heavily involved in the BO arc episodes 492-504, which has involved the BO and the FBI. The death of her partner, Akai, takes a very emotional toll on her. As it later turns out, they used to be lovers before Akai infiltrated the Black Organization by dating Akemi Miyano, with whom he eventually became more intensely involved. Still, despite their breakup Jodie does maintain strong feelings for him.Manga Chapter 677: The Fated Individual. When a man who looks like Shuichi Akai appears, Jodie is convinced that the stranger is her partner who has lost his memory, but he is gone before she can affirm her suspicion. Hints that Jodie was not Vermouth, but an FBI agent * The records of Kogoro Mouri's cases that Vermouth stole did not contain any cases involving Jodie Saintemillion, but did the contain the murder case Tomoaki Araide was involved in. This was the clue that allowed Conan to deduce Araide was Vermouth and not Jodie. * Jodie's copies of the pictures of Ran and Conan on Vermouth's dartboard have irregular borders indicating they were photographs of Vermouth's pictures.Volume 34, File 343, page 18: "Who Are You?" This detail was overlooked in the anime. Also Jodie has a picture of Dr. Araide. * Jodie calls Conan "cool guy" after the first time they meet in reference to the caption on Vermouth's photo of Conan, but she switches to to "cool kid" after that. This showed that Jodie did not know Conan was Shinichi, unlike Vermouth who was grateful to Conan (and thus trying not to target him) after Shinichi saved her in the New York case. * Jodie mentions the nickname for the FBI is "The Bureau". Relationships analysis Due to her undercover status in Japan, Jodie’s personality and style of communication varies from person to person. Outside of a select few who know of her involvement with the FBI, Jodie maintains her cover at all times, first being a high school English teacher at Teitan High, and later an American tourist vacationing with her “boyfriend”. Colleagues Shuichi Akai Shuichi and Jodie are co-workers that came to Japan as part of an FBI unit led by James Black in pursuit of Vermouth and the Black Organization. While their relationship is mostly professional in the current-timeline, the two were romantically involved at least five years prior. When Akai was given the mission to earn the trust of and become a mole inside the Organization, he got close to Akemi Miyano for the purpose of using her inside connections. Despite his original intentions, however, Akai genuinely fell in love with Akemi, leading him to break up with a blindsided Jodie. While the feelings were still there, Akai explained himself by saying, “To be able to love two women at the same time…it’s not that handy a personality.” While the two were no longer lovers, Jodie's feelings for Akai never swayed. Despite an end to their relationship, the two continued on as colleagues until the fateful day when Akai was killed. While his death was a tragic loss for all those in the FBI, Jodie took it especially hard. When first hearing the news, she was in complete denial that Akai could die. Despite her frantic attempts at proving Akai was alive, however, Jodie came to the cold hard truth on her own, bringing the agent to tears. Since the incidents of Clash of Red and Black, Akai has become an understandably sore topic for Jodie. On one occasion when conversation about drinks led Camel to mention Akai's love for Bourbon alcohol, Jodie stormed away from her friends. In addition to an inability to cope with this loss, her thought process has become seemingly more aggressive and risky, something that was unheard of during her long, careful investigation of Vermouth. Jodie's mindset has been especially fixated since her encounter with Scar Akai. When Camel mentioned that the sudden reappearance of Akai could be a trap set up by the organization, Jodie refused to accept the possibility of such a scenario. James Black Although James Black is in charge of the FBI agents stationed in Japan, his relationship with Jodie couldn’t be further from the usual boss and subordinate stereotype. In fact, during several occasions, Jodie takes over the role of giving out orders while James serves as her chauffeur. Volume 49, File 502: "A New Objective", Page 11 While there are many possibilities to explain such an arrangement, such as her strong personality and supposedly bad driving skills, James does not seem to mind in the least. The two have been acquainted long before she joined the FBI, dating back at least twenty years before the series. Following the murder of Jodie’s father, also an FBI agent, James tried convincing the young girl to join the witness protection program. Both out of concern for her safety and respect for his deceased friend, James pushed the offer hard and often, but Jodie refused him time and time again until at some point when she made him a deal; she would join the program if, and only if, she was promised a position in the FBI when she was older. Volume 43, File 437: "Ai Haibara's Resolution ", Pages 15 - 18 Whether or not he accepted the deal, Jodie’s current employment with the FBI seems to speak for itself. Despite this unusual working relationship, Jodie is a loyal and hard-working agent that wholeheartedly respects the man whom she has come to see as a sort of father figure. Work aside, the two have been shown to spend time together as friends, often along with Camel. Andre Camel Black Organization Vermouth Bitter hatred for Vermouth is putting Jodie's feelings very lightly. The animosity she holds for the American actress stems back twenty years, during Jodie’s early childhood, when her father was murdered in cold blood and home burned to a crisp by none other than Vermouth. Jodie’s father was an FBI agent working in secret on files pertaining to Vermouth. Thinking that Jodie would die along with her mother and the files when the fire was set ablaze, Vermouth allowed the young girl to wait with her daddy for the bedtime story he promised her before dying. Things did not work out as planned, however, when Jodie left to buy orange juice at the grocery store as the fire began, later returning to find her house in shambles. After hearing that only two bodies were discovered, Vermouth desperately searched for the escapee, but to no avail; Jodie had been placed into the witness protection program by her father’s colleagues. While Vermouth had since moved on from that incident, Jodie’s whole life was shaped during that fateful night. Albeit hesitant at first to join the program, Jodie made a deal with the persistent FBI agent, James Black: if promised a place in the FBI, she would take up his offer and go into the witness protection program. Ever since then, the burning desire to avenge her father, mother, and lost childhood drove Jodie to seek out the murderess. Vowing to always remember what took place, Jodie even took up the infamous motto that Vermouth spoke on the night of their encounter: “A secret makes a woman, woman.” When, years later, the FBI found a new lead on Vermouth, Jodie was given the opportunity to finally bring the high ranking organization member to justice. Compared to the girl she made an orphan, Vermouth’s strong dislike for Jodie pales in comparison but exists nonetheless. When the two were finally reunited after a long period of time where both posed as school teachers, Vermouth was just as determined to finish what she started twenty years ago as Jodie was to bringing her nemesis into FBI custody. Although intervention from both sides led to a stalemate during their encounter, their fierce rivalry lives on, each with renewed efforts to put an end to the other. Kir Other Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Although the two first met off screen when Jodie began teaching at Teitan High, Jodie’s stern personality and tough teaching style left a bad, perhaps more uncertain, impression on Ran. After coincidentally running into Jodie after school one day at an arcade, an entirely new impression was left on Ran. The high school girl began to admire and enjoy Jodie’s fun, friendly side. On more than one occasion, Ran even went to Jodie for advice. Unbeknownst to Ran, however, Jodie was putting on a front, at times even using the girl as a means to see Conan in action. As an FBI agent, Jodie closely monitored Ran and Conan after discovering a dartboard with their pictures during her investigation of Vermouth. As a school teacher, Jodie easily managed to keep close tabs on the girl labeled “Angel”. When Jodie left her teaching position, the class was deeply saddened. Despite Jodie’s protests, Ran and Sonoko attempted to throw their favorite teacher a farewell party, which later turned into a case. To prove her friend’s innocence, Ran attempted to call Shinichi to solve the case for her. Jodie, however, took the phone away, claiming that Ran needed to learn how to become independent. This gesture helps encourage Ran to try and solve the case on her own, further strengthening Ran’s admiration for Jodie. When the time came to say good-bye, however, Ran went to use Jodie’s bathroom only to find photos of her friends and her hidden behind the sink mirror. Concerned by the discovery, Ran couldn’t decide what to make of the photos. When she finally found the courage to bring the topic up to Jodie during the latter’s hospitalization, the quick thinking FBI agent explained that displaying photos of friends was an American tradition. Relieved to hear her teacher's reasoning, Ran's admiration and respect for Jodie quickly returned. Ai Haibara Jodie takes great interest in Haibara originally due to her investigation of Vermouth; although the reasons at first where unknown to her, Jodie suspected that there was a connection between the woman who Vermouth called “Sherry” and the young girl by the name of Ai Haibara. Volume 42, File 433: "The Truth Behind the Mask ", Pages 5 - 6 Following the showdown with Vermouth, Jodie encourages Haibara to take part in the witness protection program, an offer that she declines after much consideration. As an FBI agent, she had hoped that Haibara would accept the offer, but because of their similar backgrounds, Jodie’s feelings were far closer to acceptance and admiration than they were disappointment. While the two have yet to completely realize just how similar their pasts are, Jodie has admitted to seeing a little bit of herself in the young girl, even going as far as to comment on how Haibara had something that she lacked at that age; friends who she can depend on. Volume 43, File 437: "Ai Haibara's Resolution ", Pages 15 - 18 Although the relationship was mostly one-sided in the beginning, Haibara has started to see Jodie as a trustworthy figure of whom she can put her faith in, particularly after the many situations where FBI involvement has saved the day. Tomoaki Araide When Conan and Jodie succeeded in unmasking Vermouth and subsequently foiling her plans, the Araide family returned home to Japan, much to the dismay of the FBI agents who had gone to such lengths to protect them. It was encouraged that they take part in the Witness Protection Program, but Tomoaki declined on behalf of the family. In order to make the transition back to daily life as smooth as possible, Jodie filled Tomoaki in on what he had missed, omitting certain details while making other things up to protect intelligence, allowing the doctor to return to his regular life again. During their final phone call, Jodie tells him that they will not speak again. Tomoaki uses this final opportunity to ask if Vermouth was really a bad person, infuriating Jodie who asked how a good person could kill while wearing a smile. Volume 45, File 459: "Truth Behind the Remaining Desk", Pages 16 - 18 Character popularity eBookJapan held a character popularity poll from April 12, 2011 to May 12, 2011 in which readers of Detective Conan (international included) could vote for their favorite character. Jodie placed 17th in the poll with 37 votes out of the 5,883 that were cast. Name origin Jodie Starling was named after both Clarice Starling, one of the main protagonists in Silence of the Lambs, and actress Jodie Foster who performed Starling's role in the movie adaptation of the same name. Her fake name Saintemillion was from Saint-Émilion, a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in south-western France. Quotes In other languages Trivia *As a kid, Jodie's hairstyle looks similar to Haibara's. *According to Akai, Jodie has no driving skills, however, she was perfectly capable of performing a skidding about face with her car when being followed by Vermouth. See also * Characters * FBI References Category:Characters Category:Female characters Category:FBI Category:School staff de:Jodie Starling Category:Characters Category:Female characters Category:FBI Category:School staff